A Bill To Help Veterans Targeted By For-Profit Schools

Congressman Joe Courtney has sponsored a bill that could help veterans who are in school or planning to enroll using the Post 9-11 GI bill. The legislation would change how education funding is classified from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The second district Congressman says a federal 90/10 rule requires colleges to receive at least ten percent of tuition dollars from a source other than federal student aid. But a loophole in DOD and VA education benefits like the Post 9-11 GI Bill allowed the federal funding to be counted as private dollars. Courtney says this encouraged some for-profit colleges to target veterans. "Recruiting right outside military installations. And really misleading folks with promises that these schools can deliver in terms of job prospects. As a result, a lot of veterans are using their one time benefit under the post 9-11 GI bill for schools that have a pretty dismal track record in terms of gainful employment." A Senate report earlier this year found that of the ten schools that made the most money from post 9-11 GI Bill funding, eight were for-profit schools like the University of Phoenix. This brought widespread criticism since for-profit schools have lower graduation rates and its degrees often do not help graduates get jobs or credit at other schools. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America or IAVA has endorsed the bill.